Aquatic
by Poette O'Deal
Summary: Strange things have been happening in Central Park Zoo during the full and new moons and it has something to do with Marlene. Is she really as cute and naive as everyone thinks she is. Rated T for safty. Slight skilene later on. Not much though.
1. Mort

**Author Note: I own nothing. Also this has nothing in common to or with my other story _A Hidden Past. Also Mort might be a little out of character- or alot. _**

* * *

><p><em><strong>*Aquatic*<strong>_

_-Mort _

It was any "ordinary" night at central park zoo. The penguins were either sleeping(Private & Kowalski) or doing night recon(Skipper & Rico) while everyone else ('cept for some nocturnal animals) were sleeping.

Well everyone other then the lemurs who were having an all night dance party. Thank goodness for the ear plugs that the penguins had distributed to everyone! King Julien, Maurice, and Mort were all dancing to a Ke$ha song. Julien was making his usual oddball coments while Maurice had to off and on stop dancing to cover Mort's ears during the more inappropriate parts. Mort squirmed in his grip each time. "All right now my loyalist subjucts it is being time for the King to be having the stage now," he bagan doing alot of random fancy-foot work that looked rather silly and strange and...actually fitting to the song Tic Tock. Maurice, grateful for the king hogging the floor, flooped down on the ground trying to catch his breath. Mort on the other hand was getting more and more excited as he watched the king's feet do strange and nearly impossible things. To him in his strange sick little head those feet were the most amazing things in the world. Oh how much he wanted to touch those feet. Finally, unable to take it, he lunged forward gripping onto King Julien's feet for dear life.

"Aaahhhhh! Mort let go of the royal feet!" and with that Mort was kicked of of Julien's feet and sent flying toward the otter habitat. Mort landed with a thud and skidded across the ground of Marlene's habitat sliding into the small pond which helped sooth his ground burn. Unfortunatly Mort isn't that good at swimming. The little lemur was panicing as water climbed in to his throat and wind pipe. He chocked and was beginning to feel very sleepy and heavy. He fell under the water.

Suddenly grabbed him and began to drag him up. At the contact of something grabbing him he opened his eyes under rthe water. It stung for a few moments and his vision was blurry but what he saw shocked him so badly that he blacked out.

The next thing he knew he was on the wall of the fountain with all the zoo's residents surrounding him. They all looked worried(except for Julien, of course).

"Hmmm... where am I?" Mort was still slightly dizzy and when he tried to get up he fell down imediatly.

"You're at the fountain silly Mort." Julien was ticked because the attention was not directed at him.

"Yeah after King Julien kicked you off his feet you landed in Marlene's pond and almost drowned. Good thing Marlene was still up or you would've drowned," Maurice explained.

Mort suddenly remembered what he head saw in the water. "Where is Marlene?" He looked around. She wasn't anywhere around.

"She went home. She was really worked up after she got everyone up so we told her go home and rest. She was really worried about you. Typical cute and naive Marlene " Skipper started Mort from behind.

Mort could still picture what he had seen before blacking out. He wasn't sure how to feel about it. He wasn't sure he had seen what he thought he saw. He believed in alot of magical creatures monsters but he thought these came only in humanish form.

He looked up at the full moon in the sky and began to accept what he saw was real.

What he thought he saw was Marlene with a fish tail. A mermaid?

* * *

><p><strong>Please reveiw. What did you think about it? And yes I had a Ke$ha song stuck in my head as I wrote this. Reveiw! Poette Out!<strong>


	2. Skipper I

**Author's Note: I own nothing. This is based off of _Aquamarine_ and _H2o Just Add Water_. Enjoy! **

* * *

><p><em><strong>*Aquatic*<strong>_

_-Confusion_

Two days had passed since Mort had almost drowned in Marlene's pond. Skipper was in the H.Q. working on some more plans in order to test the boys skills when his mind wandered to what Mort had said after waking up.

{Flashback}

After what Moet thought he saw clicked fully into his mind he screamed. It was an extremly loud ear-piecing scream that gave alot of the zoo's inhabinats a heads ache. Then he started doing what he did best- he rambled. He rambled words that didn't make sense and continued to until Skipper slapped him.

"Sad-eyes calm down. Now from the beginning."

Mort took a deep breath then exploded "Marleneisamermaid!Marleneisamermaid!Marleneisamermaid! She has a fishy's tail! A fishy's tail!" He panted having not have taking a breath while saying that.

There was a silence for a few moments then everyone bursted out laughing.

"Good one Sad-eyes. Marlene a mermaid."

"Bloke's gone bonkers is what is is."

"Silly Mort Marlene isn't a maid of the mer. She has no fishy tail just feet. Silly Mort!"

"You were probably haluncinating Mort. Besides mermaids don't even exist."

"Hababladowakado!"

"But I saw her and her tail was all fishy and scaly and-and-"

"That is being enough Mort, you're not dragging a sweater over anybody's head with all this fishy buisness." With that everyone left some still laughing at Mort, others annoyed at the tiny lemur's idiocy.

Mort was left alone and only Skipper heard the small lemur say,"But I saw her."

{End Flashback}

Ever since then Mort had been acting strange around Marlene and avoiding her habitat all togther. The rest of the zoo's residents snickered when they saw Marlene now imagining just what Mort had thought he had saw. Marlene was really confused because when ever she asked anyone what was so funny they laughed too much to even make a cohiernt sentence leaving her even more confused.

"Maybe I should tell her whats going on," Skipper headed toward the fish bowl entrance of the H.Q. ,"Even though she is pretty cute when she's confused." Skipper suddenly realised what he had just said and shook the thought out of his head. Love had no place in a military penguin's life.

He looked up noticing that he was at her cave entrance and did what he always did- he barged right in!

"Aaaaahhh! Skipper please don't do that! Are you trying to kill me." As always he had startled Marlene, who was painting a picture of what looked like the sea. And he had to admitt that she was talented. The huges were perfect with light shimmering from the surface and she had put great detail into the animals into water.

"Only as a last resort Marlene if it ever turns out that you are a spy." Skipper joked. "What are you painting Marlene?" He pionted to her painting.

"Oh just something that I saw in a dream." Marlene answered as she continued to paint a shark into the water.  
>Skipper studied the painting for a few moments because the area she had painted looked very familiar to him as well as some of the animal."Looks kind of bloody for your tasts Marlene," Skipper said as he pointed out the fact that the shark she was painting had just ripped though some poor creatures flesh and there was blood everywhere.<p>

She shrugged and continued to paint, barely showing that she heard the question."Never said it was a pleasant dream, did I?" Her responce unnerved him slightly. She said it as though that wasn't the worst thing she had seen in her life.

"Anyway I just wanted to come over and explain why Mort won't go anywhere near you and why everyone snickers when you're around."

"Yeah, why is that?"

"Well, when Mort came-to after you saved him he started babbling about you being well...a mermaid. According to him you had a fish tail instead of your otter legs and tail. We told him that he had been halucinating at the time, but he didn't belive us. Everyone's probably trying to imagine you as a mermaid." Skipper waited for her to laugh but instead she was in deep thought, frozen.

"He wasn't halucinating Skipper."Skipper cocked his head, confused,"When I saved him a couple of days ago I had heard him scream and ran outside to help. But on my way out I slipped on a puddle and crashed into the fish Alice had given me and slid into my pond. Somehow or another I got a fish stuck around my waist. I didn't have time to pull it off or Mort would have drowned. That must have been what he saw."

"Well you should probably try to tell Sad-eyes that. Anyway I'd best be going now."

"Bye!"

Skipper left Marlene home feeling relived that Mort wasn't completely crazy. Suddenly Skipper had an apifany. He remembered why the painting looked so familar to him. It was of the Carribian Sea.

When he was he was still a private himself. That mission. The last time he saw Manfreti and Johnson alive and whole. Not simply just carcasses floating out in the ocean.

If Marlene couldn't go outside the zoo without going wild how was she able to paint that scene so...so perfectly. That scene still haunted Skipper to this day. Skipper looked back at Marlene's habitat,

"How?"

* * *

><p><strong>Bum-bum-buuuumm! Please review! XD<strong>


	3. Bada and Bing

**Author Note: I own nothing! Also if you see mistakes don't be afraid to point them out. Sorry for not updating sooner but I've been working on other stories and also exams are this week. Wish me luck. Enjoy **

* * *

><p><em><strong>*Aquatic*<strong>_

_-Bada and Bing_

During the meeting that night Skipper had acted rather strange. He didn't seem like himself and was acting like he knew something and was much more on guard than usual. He was intently studying Marlene the whole time. Everyone noticed it but no one said anything about it. They all figured it had to with their relationship, one that he would deny immediatly if asked. Marlene had been acting strange as well, though no one noticed it until after she explained to Mort what had happened that night she she'd saved him. She began to ditance herself after that. She simply nodded didn't make any comments or attempts to put her two cents in as she sometimes did.

When the meeting was over everyone went back to their habbitats. Flotting above them in the sky was a waning moon.

Bada and Bing were in their habbitat were about to go to sleep when suddenly the waning moon in the sky slowly began to vanish into darkness. "Hey, who turned the moon off?"

"I don't know."

Suddenly something strange happened: They were nearly struck by lightning! "Aaaahhhhhh!"

"Where did that come from!"

"Beats me."

They looked up to the sky and there were no clouds in the sky at all. It was one of those rare clear skies in New York City. The moon was still slowly dissapearing.

_Zap!_

Again they were nearly struck by lightning. And each time it was getting closer and closer. Frantic they looked around trying to pin point the source of this strange attack. While looking around they saw a small shadowy-figure standing on the edge of the wall to their habitat. At the moment the shadow looked majorly peeved of at them. THe shadow raised it's hand up pointing at them.

_Zap!_

More lightning. This creature was trying to kill them. The creature did it again and again and again

_Zap!_

_Zap!_

_Zap!_

This thing was toying with them now. Which they didn't appreciate one bit.

"Hey cut it out!"

"Yeah, what did we ever do to you?"

_Zap!_

That was the last one. After that the shadow vanished. Both gorillas looked shocked at what they had saw when the last lightning had struck.

When the last bolt of lightning struck they were able to see what the shadow looked like in light. For one thing, the shadow had been sitting on the wall of their habbitat not standing. And it looked alot like Marlene only instead of legs and feet she had a fish tail. "Did you see what I saw?"

"Was what you saw the otter with a fish tail throwing lightning at us?"

"Yeah."

"Then I saw what you saw."

They thought back to what Mort had said he saw. Was he right was Marlene a mermaid?

Up in the sky the waning moon was there again. The eclipse over but the nightmares remained.

* * *

><p><strong>Hope you liked it! Who do you think should be "Marlene's" next victim. Sorry its so short. R&amp;R.<strong>


	4. Phil and Mason

**Author Note: I own nothing! Exams this week probably won't update until friday. Forgive mistakes but feel free to point them out. **

* * *

><p><em><strong>*Aquatic*<strong>_

_-Phil and Mason_

The eclipse was gone now but the atmosphere still held a tangible air of darkness to it. Mason had been watching the eclipse when he heard the screams coming from the gorilla pen. They both saw the lightning-you would have to have been blind to have missed it. They looked over the wall of their habitat in order to see what had happened but what they saw was a shadow slithering across the ground from the gorilla pen to the fountain in the middle of the zoo.

They followed it curious because the creature looked familiar.

When they reached the fountain no one was there. They looked around but couldn't see anyone.

_Splash!_

They looked back at the fountain and there in the water something was starring at them. The moonlight illuminated the creature enough for then to see it's brown fur and hypnotic hazel eyes. It looked very familiar yet at the same time it looked like a stranger. They also noticed that it was a girl.

It continued to stare at them, unfazed by their appearince.

"Who the Dickins are you?" Mason and Phil were beginiing to get freaked out by this creature. She didn't say anything; all she did was cock her head to the side like she didn't understand what they had just asked her. Moon light reflected from her hazel eyes making them look like there were two small seas in her eyes.

She continued to stare.

"Phil do you rcognize her...Phil. Phil!" Mason looked at his friend waiting for a reply, but Phil acted like he hadn't even heard him. Phil wasn't even acknowedging that Mason existed. He was in a trance like state. "Phil! Wake-up! Oh! Look Lulu's back!" That got his attention. He looked aroung , eagerly, trying to find Lulu. When he didn't see her he glared at Mason.

"Sorry old bean but that was all I could think of to-" Mason stopped talking when he saw steam. Steam was coming from the fountain, but how?

The girl acted as though nothing was happening. Then Phil and Mason were able to her whole. It was Marlene. She was there simply starring at them as though she didn't know who they were. But what shocked them the most was the fact that Marlene did indeed have a fish tail. "Marlene!" He got no reply because the steam ingulfed her and when it cleared she was gone.

The moon hang in the sky, haunting them all.

* * *

><p><strong>R&amp;R! Criticize if you feel that you must. Also click on my page to vote on who Marlene's next victim should be. Please vote! R&amp;R!<strong>


	5. Marlene I

**Author note: Exams are over and school's out! XD Although now I have work over the summer! Curse you AP English. Oh well. Its not that much. I own nothing! And sorry the chapter's so short. Enjoy**

* * *

><p><em><strong>*Aquatic*<strong>_

_-Marlene_

Marlene was trudgeing back home, the waning moon over peering down at her. Head down, she easily jumped over the wall of her habitat. She looked around her, taking in her surroundings closely, as though she were searching for something...or someone.

She cooly perused around her home, she sensed something was near. She felt static electricity popping in the air making her fur stand on end. Something was coming and it was powerful. She closed her eyes in consentration, breathing in and out, then opened them. When they opened her hazel brown-green now had a silver gleam to them. It seemed mystical and other-worldly. Her silvered eyes scaned the primisis for what was causing the the strange atmosphere.  
>That's when she saw it. Most wouldn't be able notice something so small, something...so easily overlookable. It looked like heat distortion only crept and crawled across the ground. Her eyes remainded locked on it. She looked up and smiled. Clouds were blocking the waning moon's light. She stretched out her and suddenly lightning stuck the creature. It wavered and then slowly vanished.<p>

The moon came back out from under the cloud cover illuminating the night. Marlene looked down at the edge of her pond and sighed. She looked abnormal and evil with the silver in her eyes. She could only imagine how Bada & Bing and Phil & a Mason felt about what they had seen. They must think that I'm a monster. She sighed and trudged into her cave to rest, a strange imprint in the dirt followed her. _How much longer must I hide behind the sun and lies?_ She sighed at the thought. _Tomarrow I'll have alot of explaining to do_

The waning moon stood in the sky, forever reminding her of what she was. What she would forever be.

* * *

><p><strong>Sorry for such a short chapter! I may add to it later. R&amp;R!<strong>


	6. Joey

**Author's note: I own nothing! Sorry for the long update! Enjoy! XD XD**

* * *

><p><em><strong>*Aquatic*<strong>_

_-Joey_

The next day the zoo was closed and Marlene had been transported to the hosptal in the middle of the night so Bada, Bing, Phil, and Mason took this as an opportunity to tell the others what had happened last night.

"Yeah and the otter raised her hand and lightning started coming out of no where from the sky-" Bada started.

"And started trying to fry us." Bing finished.

"Phil and I had a strange encounter with Marlene as well," Phil nodded in aggreement. "She was sitting in the fountain when the water just all of a sudden started boiling. That wasn't the strangest though-"

Bing interepted,"-Don't tell me when you saw the otter she had a fish tail too."

"Actually, yes." Mason said while Phil nodded his head.

"Okay! Okay! Okay! So we have five animals claiming that Marlene is a mermaid. Kowalski give me some options." Skipper immediatly ordered. This was getting out of hand!

Kowalski pulled out his clip board and leafed though the notes, "Well according to 'research' a mermaid can have legs when on land unless they get wet or if the moon is out."

"But Marlene is an otter and we've all seen her swim around right? And all of have seen her at night. No fish tail in the water or at night." Maurice looked around and everyone nodded in aggreement.

"Exactly right Maurice. So its obvious that Marlene isn't a mermaid, which I might remind all of you do not exist!" Kowalski was annoyed at how most of these people were easily believing in such foolishness.

"Alice is coming!" Mason exclaimed when Phil, the look out, signaled him. Everone rushed either back to their habitats or to a hiding spot. Alice came into the zoo holding an animal carrier heading toward the otter habitat. "

How on earth did you get a piece of coral imbedded in you?" she mumbled bitterly. She set the carrier in the otter habitat, opened it, and lifted it up getting the creature to come out. Marlene sat on the ground until she heard Alice leave in a taxi. She then stood up when she saw her friends coming over with puzzled expessions on their faces.

"Marlene are you okay?" Private asked worried about his friend. "I'm fine Private. Why'd you ask?" Marlene said cocking her head to the side making her looking innocent.

"Well you were transfered to the hospital in the middle of the night and -**oh my gosh**! Marlene what happened to you?" Private's sidden cry startlede the others causeing them to notice the bandage wrapped around her stomach. It was huge and what was the most frightening was the fact that it was partually stained red.

"Huh! Oh, this! Last night while I was in my habitat I couldn't sleep so I went out to my pond for a midnight swim when I sliped and cut myself on a sharp rock. Part of it was embedded in my flesh so...yeah." Marlene said looking up at the sky. She was looking for something, that was obvious.

"Well okay then, I guess?" Private stated it as a question.

"Yeah so I'm just going to lie down. I lost a lot of blood soo..." her voice told them she was hinting at something. Then it hit them: she wanted them to leave.

"Oh sorry. See ya later then." With that everyone left...feeling concerned about what Marlene was keeping from.

_{Later That Night}_

Joey was trying to fall asleep but after all that had been happening he just couldn't. This was all so strange. Even stranger then the crazy stories that the penguins came up with. Marlene a mermaid? This was stranger then 'space squids' and scorkas, considering that Marlene was...well Marlene. He couldn't imagine her attacking anyone for no reason. Saving Mort...eh...he could by that, but being able to control lightening. Besides she's an aquatic mammal. Wouldn't being a mermaid be kinda...uh...redundant?

Joey was pondering all this when he heard something. A girl's voice. Someone was singing.

_"Oooooooooo...Let the song of sea be your friend. Let it guide you, guide you until the end. There's more out there then you'll ever know. Come with me before the sea wind blows."_

Whoever was singing was talented. She sounded like an angel. An other worldly being. It was...hypnotizing.

_"Ooooooooooo...The song of the sea is always there. When you make a wish on a star. When you think a friend is gone. The song of the sea is your friend. Ooooooooooooo..."_

Joey had finally found the source of the beautiful song. She was sitting on the wall of his habitat. He could barely see her, clouds were covering the moon and stars. All that he could identify was the hazel brown-green slightly amber glow of her eyes. The some strange mixture of colors was below her, around her legs. He couldn't tell the shape they made, so he let the stranger continue to sing.

"_Ooooooooooo...Let the song of the sea be your friend. Let it guide you, guide you until the end. There's more out there then you'll ever know. Come with me before the sea wind blows. Ooooooooooooo..."_

"Hey...a...Shiela. Joey likes a serenade as much as the next bloke but Joey really wants to sleep right now." She cocked her head when a street light was suddenly struck by lightening. It iluminated the night enough for Joey to sea who this mysterious Sheila was.

"M-Mar-Marlene?" Joey was shocked. She really looked different. She had a fishtail alright. It was the same color as her her eyes. The fur on her head had grown out to resemble human hair. He didn't get to see how long it was, but it had a decent length.

It was dark again now. He could only see her eyes a a shadow of her figure. It then made a motion that he was sure ment for him to be quiet.

Then she sang again.

_"OOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!"_ It was different from before. It sound warped in a dangerously beautiful way. While she only sang that one note he heard Marlene's voice in his mind. _Sleep!_ It comanded him to do. It demanding in a gentle motherly way.

Suddenly he began to get drowsy. He began to fall to the ground, falling more and more into a slumber that ,a while ago, he would've welcomed. But now he had too many questions. Many of them being why, how, and when?

He completely on the ground now when a shadow hovered over him. He was completly asleep yet. He was still fighting.

"Goodnight Joey." Her voice still had a memorizing lull in it. He then was able to blurrily see the creature, who he believed was Marlene, hover over him and kiss him on the nose. At the contact of the kiss Joey lost all will to fight and he let the sleep come. He then drifted to a deep sleep, like a bear during hybernation.

In the sky the cloud cover had begun to break, iluminating the zoo. Joey was alone in his habitat, a trail of water on his wall leading to him and then leading to the fountain in the zoo. Everything was that had just happened was left...forgotten...for now.

* * *

><p><strong>Hmmmm...interesting. Why did Marlene do that? Why did Marlene kiss him? Why am I asking you this? Oh yeah! I wrote the song in hear myself. I know its not the best. R&amp;R!<strong>


	7. Skipper II

**Author's note: I own nothing! Please enjoy! Sorry for not updating for so long. Writers block the enemy to us all on Fanfiction. Anyway this chapter will probably be a so-so chapter. Bare with me.**

* * *

><p><strong><em>*Aquatic*<em>**

_-Skipper_

It had been a week since they had had there meeting about Marlene. All week nothing strange had happened, except for the usual with the penguin's and lemurs, aside from Joey sleeping constently all week. The 'zoo overlords' as Skipper called them had Alice take Joey to the zoo infirmiry. They couldn't find anything wrong. He wasn't comatose or unconsious he was just in a deep sleep. A really deep one at that. Skipper really found this strange. He had talked to the boys about this and had started babbling about how this was yet another scheme from Dr. Blowhole. He even stated this at another meeting, but some of the residents(Mort, Bada, Bing, Phil, and Mason) had other ideas. Since Marlene wasn't there (she had begun to skip meetings recently), their prime suspect, they were able to discuss this freely.

"I bet the otter got him." Bada mumbled.

"Yeah! She throws lightning for crying out loud. No telling what she did to him!" Bing nodded in agreement.

"And she has a fishy-tail!" Mort exclaimed, hopping up and down. "Phil and I concure. Strange things have been happening recently. All of them having something to do with Marlene. And from Phil and my own observations, Marlene seems to definitly seems to be hiding something from us."

That conversation rang through Skipper's mind all day long. Granted that it was unusual for Joey to sleep for so long...or anyone else for that matter. Marlene had been acting strange too. She seemed on edge...like she was looking for something. Skipper waddled over to Marlene's habitat wondering why she had started skipping meetings all of a sudden.

When he jumped over the wall he was immediatly tackled to the ground. He looked up to see that it was Marlene who tackled him to the ground. She was growling as well, baring the incisors that he hadn't seen she'd gone feral outside the zoo. Her eyes looked determoned and set. He also noticed that they looked more green then usual.

She shook her head and she was back to normal, head cocked to the side. "Skipper?" she looked down and saw that she was on top of him. "Oh sorry Skipper. I haven't been sleeping well these last few nights...nightmares." She stayed on top of him for a few moments longer and then she got off. She looked like she'd had something more to say.

"All right. Marlene...how about you join me for a walk around the zoo. You know to clear your head." She was quiet for a few moments, thinking it over.

She smiled, "Sure. That'ld be great."

Skipper then held his flipper out for her,"After you." Marlene giggled at that and took Skippers flipper, loosening up a bit but Skipper still sense some unease.

So they strolled around the zoo abit, not talking. They were simply enjoying the presence of one another's company. A few moments after they stared Marlene went as far as to rest her head on Skipper's shoulder- or where it would have been. Skipper was shocked by this but didn't tell her to get up.

They had only gotten to Joey's pen when they heard someone's voice. A voice that hadn't been heard in a week. Joey was awake.

"Urgg! W-where am I?" Marlene and Skipper jumped on the wall to Joey's habitat and sure enough the hoppy marsupeal was indeed awake.

"Joey...you all right?You've been asleep for the past week." Skipper said intrested in what the lower mammal remembered.

"Joey's fin- wait Joey's been asleep a whole week! That ain't right!" Joey stumbled a bit, when he tried to hop about.

"Calm down Joey." Marlene said. Skipper didn't know why but he felt a pang of jealousy from the way she spoke to Joey. There was an mysterious allure to her voice. They way Joey was starring at her didn't help any. He looked calm and hypnotised. Like Marlene had him under a trance or spell. It didn't help that he had a hungry look in his eyes.

"Joey! Joey!" Skipper yelled trying to get Joey's attention. when he got Joey looked confused as though he was still waking-up. "Okay can you remember what happen before you fell asleep."

Joey thought for a moment and then his eyes popped wide open. "Some shiela singing and a vioce in my head telling me to sleep." He looked up at Marlene freaked out. "It was you! Y-you had a fish tail and you hypnostised me! Stay away shiela! Stay away!"

Skipper was shocked. He'd never seen Joey act this way. He stole a glance at Marlene to see what she thought, since he was accusing her of being a mermaid and making him sleep for a week. Strangely she didn't look surprized. She looked and calm and like she new something that they didn't and haunted.

It was obvious that Joey wasn't going to stop so he took Marlene back to her home.

"Sorry about that Marlene. Maybe we can continue this walk another day." Skipper said during their walk to her home.

"That sounds nice Skipper. I'll have to take you up on that offer." Marlene said looking at him. They made it to he wall of her habitat and jumped over together. Marlene seemed much more gracefull jumping then she had just two months ago.

They stood in silence for a few minutes.

"Well you should probably get back to your team, no-" Marlene stopped talking when suddenly the sky went dark.

"What the-?"

"Don't worry Marlene. Its just a solar eclipse. Won't last but...eight minutes tops. Marlene? You okay?" Marlene had started shaking like crazy.

"Oh its nothing Skipper. Well I gotta go clean my habitat. So see you later." She was in such a rush going to her cave that she slipped on some grass and feel into the pond.

"Marlene you okay?" Skipper ran up to her, worried. "Marlene?"

She was alright, which he was glad about but she looked guilty.

"Marlene what's wrong?"

She teared up abit, "Skipper I'm sorry. Please forgive me." She barely whisperedher responce. "I never asked for this."

"Marlene what are you-?" Skipper was cut off when the water around her started glow and bubble. "What the-? Marlene get out of there! It's not safe!" Skipper reached down to pull her out. Steam had abstructed her from his view.

"I can't Skipper! I can't!" She sounded like she was scared and was crying.

"Marlene what are you talking about?" Skipper asked as the steam thined out.

Once all the steam cleared Skipper couldn't believe his. In all his life he'd never seen something so strange, something so baffleing, something so beautiful.

Right in front of him in the water was Marlene the mermaid.

* * *

><p><strong>Reveiw please!<strong>


	8. Skipper III

**Author note: I own nothing! **

* * *

><p><em><strong>*Aquatic*<strong>_

_-Skipper_

Skipper gaped at the sight before him. He just couldn't believe it. A mermaid right in front of him. The others were right Marlene was a mermaid. So she had saved Mort from drowning that day and had lied about getting the fish stuck on her. She must have also attacked Bada and Bing with lightning, put that sleep spell on Joey. Freaking out Mason and Phil, and...that painting. That painting. Even if she was a mermaid how could she have painted that scene so flawlessly. Just exactly how it appeared when he had experienced it some years ago.

_{Flashback}_

A trio of young penguins and their comander were checking out the Carribean for anything that could prove that Atlantis existed. Their comander, Jacques, took point, Manfrieti west, Johnson east, and Skipper south.

Skipper looked around his area, coming up every now and then for air. He really didn't believe that Atlantis existed, just an old wives tale. At the moment he was searching a shipwreck. Diving in, all he found was an old compass, a chest of old books, and a skeleton captain. Nothing, that leads to Atlantis! 'This is stupid! I'm out!' Skipper thought swimming away from the wreck back to base.

At first he thought that Jauquez's paranioa was rubbing off on him and shrugged it of. Then his whole spine started to shiver. He spun around, redy to takle what was following him, but there was nothing. 'What the-' Skipper didn't get to finish his thought though, because at that moment a shark shot right by him. He couldn''t see what kind of shark it was, and at the moment he didn't care, all he knew was that he had to get out of there. He was only a Private no way could he take on a shark.  
>He started to head for the surface when he remembered the penguin credo: <em>Never Swim Alone<em>! His team he was about to abandon them! Stupid! Stupid! Stupid!

Quickly he searched for them. When he found them there were in battle with the shark that had just passed him. 'Blast it all!'

The next few moments would be burned into the back of his mind for the rest of his life. Jacques was bitten in half pushing Johnson out of the way. Dead. Skipper knew that just his two halves floating in the water, bone and fleshes falling from the carcass. Next Manfrieti's arm was bitten clean off, blood gushing out of the wound. That would undoubtly attract other carnivors to there position. Manfrieti and Johnson were then smased against reef, and that was when the beast shredded them to bits.

It was to gruesome to see. Skipper covered his eyes, thnkning that he was a goner. He waited, and waited, and waited, but nothing came. He opened his eyes to see that the shark, that had just devoured his comrades, was deads. Its fins, and tail were floating in the water beside it, along with its...ugh...organs.

The next thing Skipper knew, someone was singing. It was such a beautiful sound he was sure it was angel and that he was really dead. He looked around for the singing girl and saw a gorgous figure swimming towards him. It looked like an otter but it had a fish tail not legs. From the looks of it it had to be two year younger than him, but it was swimming towards him with no fear, as though the floating carcasses in the water weren't there.

_Sleep!_

A voice filled his head and he started to get very sleepy.

The next thing he knew he was on shore, physically unscathed.

_{End Flashback}_

Marlene was there. She had saved him that day! Skipper dropped to the ground landing on his butt, nearly hyperventilating, eyes wide open. He was frozen from what he was seeing and what he was remembering. This was too much at one time.

Marlene looked up at him with beautiful pleading eyes, "Skipper please help! Please!" The tone of her voice broke through his shock. It didn't matter what she was, she was still his friend. Quickly he grabbed her by the arms and pulled her out of the water.

Taking a breather since her tail added about ten pounds to her weight, Skipper realised that he needed to take her into her cave before anyone saw her like this. It took a minute or two but he was finally able to drag her into her cave a place her on her bed.

Now that he was no longer in shock he took a good look her mermaid self. Her eyes shined a full blown sea-green instead of a brown-hazel color. It looked as though she were wearing a long haired wig that stretched to her waist. At her waist is where the tail began. It was the same color as her eyes and was shimmering other colors in the little light that was there at the moment. Her tail stretched to be a couple inches longer than her torso, a bit longer than her actual tail, and made her have slight hourglass figure. All in all she looked drop dead gorgous.

"I guess that you want an explaination, right Skippy," She sounded half-jokey and half-sad.

"Well, yeah. I'm just in shock at the moment. I didn't know that mermaids existed." Skipper rubbed his eyes, not really trusting them at the moment.

"Actually Skipper, our species is called Aquatic. Mermaid is the equivalent of woman/girl/gal and merman is the equivilant of man/boy/guy."

"Interesting, but you sound like Kowalski." Skipper said jokeingly.

"Anyway there are all types of us. Any animal can be one, it all depends on genetics. All of the Aquatic desend from Atlantis, which I know I don't have to prove to you that it exists. We have abilaties, to control water. I can freeze it, boil it, and(for lack of a better word) bend it. I can even turn into water." Marlene explained.

"That's pretty impressive, but what about the song-sleep that Joey was babbling about and the lightning Bada and Bing wouldn't shut up about?"

"Yeah, some of us can draw lightning from the sky, me being one of those lucky ones."

"And the song?"

"Its called the siren effect. You can control someone with, the easiest being a to comand sleep. I'm only a Fledgling at the moment. I'm won't be a full fledged Aquatic until...until..." Marlene looked embarrassed; she was starting to turn red, bright red.

"What is it?" Skipper asked really curious now.

"I don't wanna say it its stupid, cliche`, and cheesy! You'll laugh, I know it!" Her face was getting reder by the moment.

"I promiss that I won't laugh."

"I have to fall in love and have true love's kiss. Then I will become a true Aquatic and as will he." By now Marlene looked like a tomatoe with hair.

Waiting for Skipper to burst out laughing, she closed her eyes and help her breath. When he didn't say anything she was sure that he had fainted from shock or something. Surprizingly though when she looked up he staring of into space with a goofy expression on his face.

Snapping her fingers in front of his face, Marlene keep on trying to wake him up. "Skipper? Skipper? Skipper you all right?"

"Huh? What? Oh sorry Marlene, my mind flashed back to all the fairytales that Private likes to watch." Skipper stammered, pink peeking through his feathers.

"Then why were you smiling?" Marlene asked slightly amused.

"Well I- I was- its just that I-I-I-Holy cow! Marlene your tail!" Marlene's tail had started shimmering, along with therest of her body. Soon steam covered her yet again, blocking her from his view. Skipper didn't know what was happening and started to panic. However Marlene had seemed totally calm when she had stared at her shimmering tail just a few seconds ago.

When the steam cleared Marlene was back to her normal otter self.

* * *

><p><strong>R&amp;R! Sorry for the wait! Would have updated yesterday, but computer promblems. <strong>


	9. Marlene II

**Author note: I own nothing!**

* * *

><p><em><strong>*Aquatic*<strong>_

_-Marlene_

After turning back Marlene had asked Skipper to keep her secret. Even from his team.

"I don't Marlene. They're my team. I can't keep this away from them. They have a right as protectors of this zoo to know about this, since it involves the zoo residence."

"Come on Skipper please? I wasn't planning telling anyone about this until I was a full-fledged Aquatic, but now...Please Skipper, you know what Kowalski would so if he found out." Marlene said.

A mental image of Kowalski proding Marlene with bioscaners and wires pretruding from her body, helped Skipper agree to keep her secret. "Fine, you better Mr. Right pronto Marlene!"

Marlene chuckled., "Its not like I can go to the nearest Boy Toy store and pick some stranger out. I might be a while, Skip"

"Well...best of luck to you then." If Marlene hadn't known any better she would've sworn that Skipper looked...jealous.

After he left she sighed. Marlene felt sick with herself, she was a liar. She never told Skipper the msot important part of what had happened. Why she had struck lightning around Bada and Bing, why she put Joey under her sleep spell. She left out the Mirage.

Demons, that prayed on the life force of surface dwellars. That could go easily undetected by technoligy and magic. If she hadn't put Joey in a dormant state he would have been dead a week ago, as would have Bada and Bing. They stole one's soul, leaving an unexplainable death behind. Many unsolved murders were the results if the Mirage.

It had been the reason she was even there in the Carribean at that time. Someone had spotted Mirage in that area, it had been an Zeta Class and had been able to take over a dead sharks body, killing Skipper's comrades. Luckily she had been there or else Skipper would've... She shivvered. No sense in dwelling on what could have happened. Focus on the now.

Marlene looked up at the sunny sky and sighed. This would be dificult but it had to be done. She walked over to Joey's hoping to calm him down.

When she arrived at his pen, however, he wasn't there. "Where'd he go?" she recieved an answer when she heard voices over at the Zoovineer shop. Running over there she figured that Joey's sudden waking had triggered a meeting about herself. She needed to get these rumors undercontroll. They were ostralizing her. Everyone was getting suspisious of her.

"Hold up... are you saying that Marlene made you sleep all week? That seems kind of far fetched to me." Marlene recognised Maurice's voice.

"That's what Joey's been saying, mate!"

"I believe him."

"Me too. Something strange is happening with that otter."

"Phil and I concure. After seeing what we've seen, there's no telling what she could do."

"She's a mermaid. Fishy-tail! Fishy-tail!"

Marlene's paws clenched and unclenched. she fought back tears. _Monster! That's all you are! A sneaky mer-temptress! Why? Why me? Why me? Whyyy meeee!_

**Boom!**

Thunder! Marlene looked up and saw that the sky, which had been cloudless just moments ago, was completly cover in dark clouds.

"What the... ?" Then her mind remebered what her mentor had said was the rarest power her people could get... empathy. Aquatic with this ability could pour their feelings into the environment around them, and they could feel te emotions of other creature... and see their memories as well. It was a one-in-a-million chance to have that ability._ One-in-a-million._

_All right Marlene... calm down... 1... 2... 3...4... 5... 6... 7... 8... 9... 10...breathe..._

"That was weird," Burt said sticking his head out, not seeing Marlene.

"Hmmmm?" Marlene looked up the dark clouds were gone, but it was no longer that pretty a day.

_Looks like I need practice..._

"Huh? Who said that? Oh, sorry Marlene... didn't see you there!" He was speaking loudly for some reason... wait he was alerting the others! Marlene heard herself growl.

"Tell the guys that if they have something to say about me, they should say it to my face!" Marlene yelled so that the others could hear her. Breathing in again, so the wheather didn't go all wack again, she walked into the zoovineer shop. All eyes were on her.

"Look, I know that some... unexplainable things have been happening lately... and I've been on edge, so I can see why you might think that I had something to do with what's been happening. But!" She turned on her heals to face them, her eyes have a dangerous gleam in them... a ticked off one as well. Even the ones who didn't believe that Marlene was a mermaid felt a shiver go up and down their spines. "I an hoonestly say that i mean no harm, what so ever." She smiled a Cheshire Cat smile and walked about them. Encircling them. Then she walked out winking at them as she left.

After leaving she sighed, _Well that did nothing to help my case!_

Storming away Marlene felt eyes burning a hole in the back of her head. Quickly she turned, nothing!_ Calm down girl, Skip's paranoia is just getting to you!_

Walking back to her habitat Marlene started to calm down. Until a gust of wind blew against her from the West. That was sea air blowing at her! That would be comin at her from the East not West. Swiflty moving to the West Marlene saw a dark green glow around the Zoovineer Shop!

Mirage! And a lot of them!  
>It takes roughly one-hundred to even take a light color...this dark green had to mean well over a thousand.<p>

"Out of the way Marlene!" Skipper barked from behind her. His team slide to the sight ahead, Marlene looked along horrified.

"Skipper wait! Don't go in there!" Marlene shouted behind them. Only a full fledged Aquatic could take on that many Mirages. An angel of the sea, as an Fledgeing pastor once told her.

"Marlene stay back, this has Blowhole writen all over it!" Marlene remebered the psychopathic dolphin... no way could he do this!

"Skipper it's not him!" Marlene had tear streamong down her face now. She felt the agony everyone inside was feeling now. If she didn't get an Aquatic to get them out, they would die! They're bodies turning into Mirages.

She shuddered when she remembered the first time she saw a body being turned. It wasn't a pretty sight.

"Really Marlene you saw him and what he is capable of. This is one-hundred percent Blowhole!" Kowalski said. oth Rico and Private nodded in agreement and waited for Skipper to do the same.

But he didn't. He studied Marlene and found that look in her eyes. It was the same look she had when she was about to change in front of him. "

I'm listening Marlene." Skipper said with military confidence. His comrades looked at him like he had grown a second head.

She sighed, "I'm sorry that I kept this part from you... I didn't want to overwhelm you Skip. What's in there are being known to my kind as Mirages. They are demonic creatures that can suck the soul from a being. The bodies of those who die at their hands turn into Mirages. It takes thousands for them to become visble like that. You can't fight them! Only an Aquatic can defeat them!" Marlene was in tears now.

"Well then couldn't you fight them off?" Skipper asked not noticing the questioning looks he was getting from his team.

"I can only keep them at bay, only a full fledged Aquatic can vanquish them. I won't ever be able to keep this many at bay."

Skipper stood there stumped. At the moment a dozen lives at stake and the only thing that could help, he had no idea of contacting. Time was ticking away.

* * *

><p><strong>R&amp;R! If you have an idea PM me please! I'll give credit where credit is deserved! I really need ideas!<strong>


	10. Enter Kendra

**Author note: I own nothing!-Wait I own Kendra! I own nothing but Kendra! Sorry this chapter is so short. There should be two more chapters after this one.**

* * *

><p><strong><em>*Aquatic*<em>**

_-Enter Kendra_

"Skippah what are you all talking about?" Private asked. He had never seen his leader look so defeated before. It scared.

"Skipper, I have no idea what you and Marlene are talking about but we have to act fast," Kowalski turned to talk to Marlene, "Marlene I'm not sure what mirages have anything to do with this but this surely the hand-work of Dr. Blowhole. Now then go home so that we can handle this."

Marlene glowered, "You have no idea what you're up against. The moment that you walk in there, well the only place that would be worse than there would be the depths of hell itself." The tone of her voice caused shivers to go up and down their spines. It was unnerving and somehow they knew she was right.

"Well then what is an Aquatic?" Private asked nerviously. This was all begining to scare the young penguin.

"Aquatic are...are...are..." Skipper didn't want to break his promiss to Marlene, but he felt that they needed to know.

"I'm an Aquatic." Marlene's voice was calm and steady.

"Well yes Marlene we all know that you're an aquatic mammal and we are aquatic birds but what it is that you and Skipper are talking about?" Kowalski asked.

"Not that kind of Aquatic. You know how for the past few weeks there have been some rumors flying around about me being a mermaid-" clouds suddenly covered the sun.

_Pefect timing!_ Marlene thought.

Without a second thought she jumped into the fountain and almost immediatly steam started to come from the water. Kowalski, Rico, and Private were all yelling at her to get out and that it was dangerous. Skipper looked at her like she was crazy. Although he looked relieved that he wouldn't have to lie to his team any more.

Finally the steam cleared and the others gaped at the same sight Skipper had been greeted with. Marlene the mermaid.

"You're-but-how!" they all said together.

"No time to explain!" Skipper yelled pulling Marlene out of the fountain. "We need to find a way to gaet rid of that thing."

"Its a Mirage Skipper and thousands of them. All Beta class. We need a full fledged aquatic." Marlene sighed. "I wish my mentor was here..."

"Mentor?" Private asked.

"Yes, all fledgings are a signed mentors. They train us to fight Mirages but as fledglings we can only defeat Zeta class Mirages and ones that are too weak to fall into classification. Beta's and Alphas are the top of the top. My mentor could stop them...I wish she were here-"

"What you honestly thought I couldn't sense this many Betas Marlene? Tsk...tsk...tsk! What have I told about assuming Little Marley!" the voice belonged to to a girl, though at the moment she seemed to be hiding.

Marlene smiled, "Kendra! When did you get here!"

"Are you kiding me Little Marley you can see that from Hoboken. Bright as day!" the girl laughed, she had a slight southern accent.

"Right!"

"Will you help us?" Kowalski asked.

"Of course! Anything for my favorite pupil."

"Well can you stop this? Wait where are you, I don't trust people I can't see!" Skipper yelled.

Marlene looked up at him in disbelief, "Skipper, you dont' trust people you can see!"

"Um, that may be true, but I still want to see the face of the person we are trusting with dozens of lives!" Skipper yelled, slightly flustered.

"Hmmm...how interesting...but anyway your friend is right, I should introduce myself." That's when Kendra stepped out of the shadows.

The guys gasped. She wasn't what they were expecting, not by a long shot.

Kendra was a human teenage girl and she had understood everything they had told her.

* * *

><p><strong>Again sorry for the shortness! I'll have the next chap up as soon as I'm done with it. Read and review!<strong>


End file.
